Russian Caravan Tea

Can anyone make some recommends of Russian Caravan teas to try?

My roommate and I adore the Caravan tea from Andrews & Dunham but we’re starting to run a little low. We don’t want to repurchase the whole Series 3 so we’re looking to trying caravan teas from other companies?

Russian Caravan can be another term for Lapsang Souchong. A lot of companies use the sames interchangeably.

The name Russian Caravan actually refers to the story of the origin of Lapsang Souchong. The story is about how there was a war in China, and the tea traders had to dry their tea leaves quickly to avoid the invading force. So they smoked the tea over pine embers, put it on the caravan and sent it to Russia. Hence Russian Caravan tea.

The Russian Tea Room in San Francisco traditionally used Czar Nicholas ll (Blue) from a company in Sacramento that still exists…they also make a red label Czar Nicholas Valentine. What is done at times for dessert (a Russian Orthodox Priest in Saratoga,CA did this when preparing tea for me) sour cherry preserves are put in the teacup with a spoon…(several tablespoons full of jam) and you sip and nibble jam from the spoon. Delightful! You can purchase both on Amazon and elsewhere.

I think each russian caravan is very different. I have tried very sweet and citrucy ones with bergamot without any hints of smoke! I tried really smokey ones, like someone just soaked the leaves in some smoke like chemicals! And then I tried real expansive ones, like Caravan Triad by Brooklyn Tea Blends, which I recently bought on amazon. So I think just go with any blend that has good quality lapsang souchong in it.